John Dobson and Neil Powell have appealed to the relevant role players to resolve the challenge for SA teams travelling to Europe in EPCR competitions.
Last year, the Vodacom United Rugby Championship signed a three-year deal with Qatar Airways to fly the SA franchises between Europe and the Republic for matches from the 2022-23 campaign, which would financially and logistically suit all parties.
Yet, the partnership is reportedly having a negative effect on the local teams, as they must fly first to Doha, transfer to their next flight to a European hub, and then depart to the actual city or venue where they will be playing – in economy class.
It is understood to have taken the DHL Stormers more than 40 hours to arrive in Scotland for a URC clash against the Glasgow Warriors on Sunday.
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The Sharks would encounter a similar challenge to face Connacht on Saturday in Galway, yet mitigated some of the hassles by sending a radically overhauled squad, a ‘B’ team missing a host of front-line players.
But, the Stormers’ Dobson seeks a better solution, as identifying fixtures to potentially select an understrength side to negotiate a jam-packed schedule in the URC and European Champions Cup is not feasible.
Speaking in a media conference on Friday, he told reporters: “There’s a rationale why that’s happened … and remember last year we did one big tour right at the start and then played right at home and did two two-week long trips at the end, and then we had those massive runs at home – and we [SA teams] all enjoyed them.
“But, this one or two-week trip, week at home, one or two-week trip, week at home via Doha is too much.
“Teams are going to – as we’ve already seen with the Sharks, the Bulls at Exeter, and potentially us in a few weeks’ time – taking ‘B’ teams or sending B teams in the EPCR is going to upset organisers.
“Leinster sort of set the tone for it last year when they sent that team down [to SA] and actually did really well, but I’m not sure that’s what’s great for the competition. You want to see the best teams week in, week out.
“Unless we solve the travel thing, I don’t see the Sharks had a reasonable choice, I think we would’ve done the exact same thing.”
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Dobson added: “There’s going to need to be some consensus about how we can make this something more palatable.
“For example, I caught up with some guys I know in the Glasgow setup and they’re flying to the Lions to play a game that was postponed, in February, and from what I understood [they’re travelling] business class – Glasgow, London business class straight into Joburg – a 12-hour trip fresh and ready to go. So I don’t think it’s equitable at the moment.
“We’re under administration with SA Rugby and austerity is a really important part, both for WP Rugby and SA Rugby, given that we bought our way into the URC, but that’s a level that Rian [Oberholzer] and the CEOs with SA Rugby will have discussions on.
“Last season it felt OK, we didn’t have the Qatar obligation that we do now, and didn’t have the Dakar sponsorship, and I know we need to reduce costs because I think SA Rugby, to get us into this competition, had to reduce costs around it.
“But I think the EPCR demands, which don’t have the Qatar requisite … that and the travel back and forth, it’s going to have to be discussed.”
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Sharks director of rugby Powell has accepted it as “a reality” for the moment, and “something we can’t control”, but said: “What we do need is to find solutions for it, if it’s something that we find is a bit challenging.
“It is what is for this season and there’s nothing you can do or say that’s going to change it. But maybe when the season is done it’s a discussion that we need to have with the different role players that are making those decisions.
“For a 12-hour trip to end up becoming a 40-hour trip is not ideal and it’s something we’d like to change if possible.”
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